The Holiday Train

The CP Holiday Train was scheduled to make a stop in our area and my husband and I made plans to meet family there. Our granddaughters ran to greet us and then returned to playing in the snow.

The park soon filled up with families excited for the arrival of the train. The engine and boxcars were adorned with coloured lights. After the train came to a stop, the side of one of the boxcars was lowered to become a stage. Singers and musicians appeared on the stage to entertain the crowd.

The children, however, didn’t seem to care about the train or the performance. They were happy to be playing in the snow that had fallen that afternoon. Truthfully, the performance wasn’t the highlight for me, either.

As I looked at the boxcars festooned with Christmas lights I was reminded of the brightly decorated boxes under the Christmas tree. Like the stage on the train, we may have expectations of what is inside but there is no way to know until the box or gift is opened.

None of these gifts is as meaningful as the one that God gave us when he sent his son. Jesus didn’t arrive on a brightly lit train or with fanfare. He came to us humbly, being born in a stable. His life was not one of performance, but of service to mankind.

I think that the children had it right. The bright lights and performance could not distract them from the wonder and enjoyment of God’s creation. This year I want to be more like a child as I enjoy of the gifts God has given instead of focusing on the distractions of the world.

He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity. (John 1:4 GWT)

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. (John 3:16 -17 GWT)